Life of Rain
by MSan
Summary: When Kazahaya finds that a girl is being beaten, he struggles in himself whether to help, or let her figure it out. Until he finds out, he is too late to do either.


Life of Rain

By: Darkstar12

Disclaimer: I do not own Legal drug. If I did, why would I be writing this fiction?

She came in every Friday. Every Friday she walked in as if she had nothing better to do, and she browsed for twenty minutes before choosing the same thing. Every Friday she bought the same box of pills. Pain killers, normal pain killers. She never bought anything more or less. She would walk in with head phones stuck in her ears and her school uniform blazer tied around her waist. Her checkered skirt was rolled around the waist, so that the hem went to about three inches above her knees. Her socks were pushed down around her dress shoes, and her white dress shirt was untucked and unbuttoned, showing off a different spaghetti strapped shirt every Friday.

She never said anything; she was usually too absorbed in a magazine or manga, or notebook in her hands. And she never spoke to any of them, ever, and not from their lack of trying, either. Kudo Kazahaya tried to talk to her whenever he checked her out. Himura Rikuo would even say a few words to her; though mostly it was nothing she could possibly respond to. Kakei-san spoke with her but she would never speak, not really. A quiet "yes" or "no", and once there was a barely audible "I came through the tunnel" answer. But she had never spoken more than a short sentence, and never to anyone but Kakei. Because he always pestered her until she did say something.

Today was not any different. It was three fifteen, and her high school had just let out. For some reason, she never went to the tutoring sessions, though everyone else was required to.

Kazahaya spotted her coming as he stood outside for a breath of fresh air, though the air was charged with the prestorm smell. As usual, her school uniform was made up to be more comfortable. Her dress shirt was open and even from far down the sidewalk, Kazahaya could see that it was a deep red color, with a lighter decoration on the front, though he could not see what that was. Turning, he went back in the Green Drug Pharmacy, and took up position behind the counter. It was where he was working today. Kakei-san had not given them a 'special' mission yet, so he felt somewhat useless. He hadn't put in quite a full day's work since he very first began working there. He had not seen Rikuo much that day, though he knew that the other boy was around. Actually, he was glad for the silence. To tell the truth he had seen _anyone_ that day. Saiga was nowhere to be found, even though he was usually skulking about in the back room with Kakei. Kakei-san had made an entrance that morning, but after that Kazahaya had been left with himself. Rikuo had even disappeared. No noise came from the rest of the store to even suggest that anyone else was there.

The bell on the door jingled and Kazahaya was startled from his reverie. He looked up as if he didn't know who the visitor was and was nonplussed to see the girl walking in. her head phones were in her ears and in her hands was a manga novel. Kazahaya tilted his head slightly to try and read the title. But it was too much in shadow. However, as he rose back up, the girl passed the counter and raised the book up, moving her fingers out of the way and stopping in front of the counter, holding the book up to his eyes level. Kazahaya was surprised by the action, but he had a clear view of the title. "Hiroku-kun: Last of Japan".

And then the girl turned and began walking again. She had never taken her eyes from the pages of the book. Kazahaya watched her disappear among the shelves, and snorted slightly. How had she known he was looking at her novel? She hadn't even been looking at him. He could see the very top of her head over the shelves and he watched it move to the right and then the left. And then a hand appeared at the top, laying her novel on the top shelf, and then disappearing. Then her head sunk completely from view, and all Kazahaya could see was the novel lying on the shelf.

Thunder rumbled outside, and a flash of lightening, lit the cover of her novel up.

The phone rang loudly behind him, and Kazahaya nearly jumped from his skin. He turned, his heart beating wildly in his ears, and picked up the phone putting it too his ear.

"Green Drug Pharmacy," he said, his voice sounding cheerful.

"Hello, young man. I was wondering how long the Pharmacy stays open?" said an older woman's voice.

"Well, we are open from eight until six on weekdays. On Saturdays we are open until five, and Sundays we are only open until three."

"Oh. Well you see…"

But Kazahaya lost interest in what she was saying. As he voice continued in the background, he turned to look at the shelf where the girl had been before. The novel was off the, but he could not see her head moving. Kazahaya inched towards the swinging door from the counter. He reached it and leaned to look around the shelf to see if he could spot. He saw nothing.

Glancing at the phone cord to make sure it would stretch, Kazahaya went through the small door, and carefully made his way farther out, attempting to see all the way down the isle the girl had been in. He was reaching the end of the stretchy cord, and he pulled hard against it, trying to see to the end of the isle. He brought his foot forward to pull a little more, but his shoe slipped back on the floor and he lost his balance, falling forward to the floor. The phone skittered across the floor, the cord springing back, and out of his reach. Kazahaya's chin cracked against the hard tiled floor and his bit his tongue at the same time.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. It was then he realized that the woman was still on the phone. Scrabbling to his hands and knees he slid under the counter door and grabbed the phone, putting it back to his ear.

"Young man?" he heard the woman. Kazahaya squeezed his eyes shut against the throbbing pain in his tongue.

"Yes ma'am, I'm listening," he said.

"Oh, okay. So, of course, you can see my distress," she said. Kazahaya nodded.

"Yes, ma'am, I can," he said knowingly, as if he knew what she was talking about.

"So, I was wondering if my son could pick up my prescription tomorrow, instead of me," she asked. Kazahaya sighed.

"That usually isn't allowed, ma'am. But I can understand. So, when he comes in, he'll need to have your identification of some sort, and we will also be calling you when he comes in to confirm he is in fact your son," Kazahaya explained, rubbing his chin.

"Yes, yes, of course. Thank you, young man!" the woman said cheerfully.

"You're welcome, ma'am. Have a good day," he said.

"You too," and then there was a click, and the line was silent. Kazahaya dropped the phone and rolled onto his back groaning in pain, as he put his hands over his injured chin and mouth. "Ouch…"

"Are you alright?" he heard a man's voice say. His eyes opened and he saw Kakei-san leaned over the counter to look at him, his nose wrinkled slightly. Kazahaya nodded, getting to his hands and knees again, then raising up to his feet and shaking his head. He could taste blood in his mouth, its sharp metallic flavor seizing all of his taste buds, and causing his face to squench up, even though he hadn't actually meant for it to.

"I'm fine," Kazahaya snapped, leaning over the garbage can to spit out some of the blood. He detested the flavor of blood, and now his mouth was full of it. He looked over at Kakei and stuck out his tongue. "Ith it bleeding?" he asked, crossing his eyes to try and see it himself. Kakei leaned over a little to see it clearly. He nodded.

"Yeah. In almost a perfect line. Did you bite it?" he asked, standing again and looking back up at Kazahaya who nodded, as he grabbed a tissue.

"Yes, I bit it…" he said, putting the tissue to his tongue and then brought it back to look at it. It had several spots of blood on it. He heard Kakei make a clucking sound.

"You should be more careful with that tongue, Kudo-kun. Its such a pretty thing, and you could do much more with it, but only if you don't bite it anymore. You know?" Kakei said, winking. Kazahaya made a noise and spit the tissue from his mouth, pulling his tongue back into his mouth in a protective way. Kakei-san laughed, as he grabbed a jacket off the counter. "I'm going out, but I'll be back in a few minutes." With that he turned and went out, disappearing around the corner as a drizzle began outside. Kazahaya choked on the taste of blood, before turning to look back around the store.

The girl was nowhere to be seen, and Kazahaya had the sinking feeling that maybe she had walked out with an item while he had been preoccupied with the woman on the phone, then his chin and tongue, and then an off color comment from his boss. The seventeen year old walked out from behind the counter and went among the shelves. He looked down two and then moved on. He had gone through the shelves twice before he spotted her at the very back of the store, looking at something on one of the back shelves, in the farthest corner from anything. Slowly, Kazahaya made his way over to her. She did not seem to notice him, even when he was right on top of her.

"Can I help you with anything?" he said, and she jumped nearly out of her skin, making a small frightened sound. She landed back on the floor in a very defensive position, with one arm raised up in front of her face, the other protecting her chest. The bottle of pills she had been holding fell to the floor, and skittered around, the lid popping off and pills scattering all around their feet. Her eyes-eyes Kazahaya just realized he'd never actually seen-were large and peered out at him from the gap between her arms. They held every emotion Kazahaya had ever seen pass across someone's eyes, the most dominant being fear.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," he said, holding his hands out as if to show her that he wasn't holding any weapons with which to harm her. As quickly as she had taken the frightened pose did she go back to her unimpressed attitude that he normally saw her wearing. Her arms dropped to her side, and her eyes and face read nothing. Kazahaya wasn't even sure that she classified as quite human in that state. Without saying a word, she crouched down and began cleaning the pills up. Kazahaya crouched down with her, and reached over, taking her wrist. In his mind flashed a man. A very large man. His hand was raised and in it, he was holding a baseball bat. He was bringing the bat down.

The memory didn't last long, Kazahaya figured because she put her shields up. She must've been able to feel that he had been in her mind, her thoughts. Her eyes snapped up to him. He smiled slightly, though it was hard to do with such a frightening image in his mind, and her equally frightening gaze trained on him.

"Don't worry about this. I'll go get a broom. We have to toss the medicine anyway. I have to take it to a crusher in the back of the store," he said. She didn't seem to believe him, but she slowly stood with anyway. He nodded. "Just a minute and I'll have the broom. You can keep looking if you haven't found what you want." Kazahaya did expect her to answer in his instinct, but his mind did not. So he turned and jogged to the counter and behind it to the employee closet where he located the broom and handled pan. He walked back to the isle where the spill had occurred. The girl had not moved from the position he had left. He walked back to her and began sweeping up the pills. The girl was watching him, and he noticed she looked very apprehensive about the fact that she had spilled the pills. He smiled at her and he swept some into the pan.

"It's alright. Don't worry about it. It happens all the time. Believe me, you aren't the first one who had spilled pills. It's why we have the crusher in the back," he told her. Though normally the words would have made anyone feel better, the girl's face showed that the words had made her feel worse. She ran down the isle grabbing something off the shelf and running to the counter. "Hey! Hang on!" Kazahaya ran after and slid around the isles to see her paying for whatever she had grabbed. Rikuo was standing there looking at her expectantly as if she were going to tell _him_ why she was so upset. Kazahaya jogged to her.

"I didn't mean to upset you!" he said, looking at her, though her hair had fallen in her face, and he could not see it. He looked down at the counter to see what she was buying. Kazahaya's eyebrows went up at the amount of pain killers that Rikuo was beginning to put into a bag. There was enough there put an elephant to sleep for a few hours. Kazahaya looked up at Rikuo who exchanged a look with him, but it could not be read. The girl grabbed the bag that Rikuo handed her, and then turned and ran out of the Pharmacy. As she ran in front of the long window, Kakei-san come into view and she ran right into him. He was not phased really, but she bounced backward and fell to the ground. Kakei seemed surprised and then worried. He leaned over as if to help her, but she pushed his hand away and got up. Her back was now wet from the wet sidewalk she had landed on. The drizzle had picked up and was now a fair rain, thunder and lightening sounding every once in a while. The girl sprinted off, and Kazahaya could no longer see her in the window. Kakei-san entered the Pharmacy, shaking off some of the rain and looking at Kazahaya and Rikuo.

"What happened?" he asked. They both shrugged.

"I was just helping her, and she freaked out," Kazahaya said, turning and beginning back to where the pills had been spilled. He picked the broom up and began sweeping again. He drew the broom along the floor and brushed the rest of the pills into the pan. He got down on his knees to see if any had escaped under the shelf. As he did, he noticed something sitting on the bottom shelf. He reached over and grabbed it, turning it over to look at it. It was a manga novel. "Hiroku-kun: Last of Japan" is what the cover read. His eyes widened. The girl had left it. He jumped up and ran to the front of the Pharmacy where Rikuo and Kakei-san were still conversing. He untied his apron and threw it on the counter.

"I promise I'll be back in a few minutes!" he said, and breezed out the door to the sidewalk, where the rain was coming down, though not as hard as it had been earlier. He saw the girl's form far down the sidewalk, however she was walking now. Tucking the novel in his zip up hoodie so it would not get wet, Kazahaya began running for her. His long legs were covering ground quickly, but she still seemed a long way away.

"Hey!" he called, when he thought she could hear him. "Hey! Wait up!" he yelled. She turned and looked over her shoulder at him. She seemed to realize who he was, and, securing her Pharmacy bag on her arm, she took off down the sidewalk. Kazahaya called after her. "Hang on! I'm—you left your—book!" he cried. A streak lightening crawled across the sky, and not a second later a crash of thunder shook the buildings around, sounding like a firework had just been let off right next to Kazahaya. The rain began to pick up as he tried to run harder.

"Hang on! I'm not—you left this thing at the store!" he yelled after her form that was slowly disappearing in the sheet of rain. She turned and looked at him.

"Don't follow me!" she screamed, her voice sounding very desperate. Kazahaya realized it was the first time he'd heard her voice higher than a slight whisper. "Please, Kazahaya! Don't follow me!"

Kazahaya wasn't sure how she knew his name. They did not have name tags at the Pharmacy; Kakei-san didn't like how they looked. He supposed it was possible Rikuo or Kakei-san had told her, but he wasn't sure why they would have. One way or another, she did know his name, and she seemed very adamant about him not following her. Picking up his pace, he yelled after her again over the rain.

"Look, just stop! I won't follow if you just let me—give this to you!" he called. The girl ignored him and took a sharp right that Kazahaya hadn't even known was there. He ran faster to catch up with her. He skidded to a stop by an alleyway where she had disappeared and looked down it. A door was just shutting. He jogged over and opened it, going inside. It appeared as if he were in an apartment building. He mounted the stairs and was trying to figure out how he'd find her. He looked down at his feet and saw a trail of water going up the stairs. He smiled and followed the trail all the way to the third floor. By the time he reached the door to the floor, the water trail was getting faint. However, he was able to trace it to a door across the hall and two down from the stairway door. The doorknob was slightly wet and Kazahaya smiled. At least he would be able to give her the novel back. He raised his hand to knock but stopped when he heard yelling from inside. His hand was frozen an inch from the door as he listened to the yelling.

"Where were you!" screamed a man's voice.

"I'm sorry, I was at the Pharmacy, getting pain pills for mom! I go every Friday!"

"You had to be home by five! Look what time it is!"

"I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"

"You're right, you little cockroach! It _won't_!"

Kazahaya heard shuffling in the room beyond, a cry from the girl and then the sound of something very hard cracking against skin. The sound made Kazahaya cringe. The sound continued for a few minutes before he started to hear crying and the girl yelling for whatever was happening to stop. Kazahaya looked down at his watch. If she was supposed to be home at five, then it must've been very late for her to be getting such a punishment.

The seventeen year old nearly gagged when he saw the actual time. 5:06.

What was wrong with this guy? Was it someone she knew? Kazahaya pressed his ear against the door when he realized that he no longer heard noises coming from inside. He strained his ear to hear something, anything. But he heard nothing. Looking back down at his hands, the boy remembered the novel tucked in his jacket. Wiping some of the rain off his face, and slicking back his wet hair away from his forehead and face, Kazahaya unzipped his jacket and pulled the novel from it. It had stayed fairly dry, though the back cover that had been pressed against his jacket was slightly damp.

The boy no longer wanted to knock on the door. That would probably warrant more of a punishment from the man on the girl. Digging in his pocket, Kazahaya found a pen. He got down on his knees and opened the front cover and uncapped the pen, beginning to write on the book. It didn't take him long to finish the note. He signed his name, then positioned the book on the floor in front of the door. Putting the pen away in his pocket, Kazahaya stood, and raised his hand. He knocked three times, then turned and escaped out of sight down the stairs. However, he could still see the door. A few moments later, the door opened and the girl appeared. She looked around, up and down the hall. Her face was tear stained, and Kazahaya was sure that he could see a little blood trickled down from her head. But her hair fell into her face as she looked down at the book, and he could not be sure that he had actually seen what he thought he had. The girl crouched down and picked up the book, turning it over, then opening it to the first page. It did not take her long to discover the letter he'd written on the inside front cover. Her eyes were foxed on the words for a few moments before looking up and around again. A noise sounded from inside the apartment and the girl jumped, shutting the book and clenching it to her chest. A large man appeared behind her and took her shoulder. She jumped and turned, discreetly putting the book behind her back and stuffing it in her skirt, draping her shirt over it.

"Who was at the door?" the man asked. She shook her head.

"No one. They must have had the wrong apartment, and realized it at the last minute," she said, her voice very convincing. The man looked suspicious, then nodded.

"I'm going down the hall to Tai's apartment. I'll be back in an hour or two. Take care of your mother," he said, and with that he pushed past her and went down the hall to another door that he knocked on, and was let into a moment later. Once the door had been shut, the girl let out a sigh of relief, leaning against the door frame. She pulled the novel out from her skirt and looked at it. She looked toward the stairwell, and Kazahaya had the distinct feeling that she knew he was still there.

"Thank you, Kazahaya…" she whispered, her voice barely audible, as it had always been. She pulled something from her pocket and Kazahaya recognized it as a few packs of the pain medicine she had bought. The girl opened a pack and looked at the pills inside. Kazahaya was sure he saw a tear run down her cheek and she held the packs of pills to her chest and disappeared into the apartment, the door closing behind her.

Kazahaya turned and continued down the stairs, reaching the door to the street and looking outside at the rain that was pouring down over everything. He walked outside, the rain immediately drenching him. But for some reason, he didn't care. Normally, he would be running to get out of it as quickly as possible. But now, he felt very small, and very inadequate. And the rain didn't bother him so much now. He couldn't believe what had happened in that apartment. The girl had been beaten because she had been six minutes late. And now, Kazahaya wasn't even sure the girl was going to give all of the pain pills for her mother. He had a bad feeling she was going to use some of them for her own demise. For once in a long time, he wasn't sure if he was going to see her next Friday.

The walk back to the Pharmacy seemed longer than it usually did from this distance. And the rain seemed to pick up every moment longer that he walked in it. It was cold and sank into his skin. He was shivering uncontrollably by the time he saw the sign for the Pharmacy. And when he was within a few feet of the long window, he was feeling extremely faint. The memory he had seen when he had taken her wrist earlier now made sense. She was being beaten, who knew how much, or how long. But he knew it was happening. But he hadn't actually seen it, and she hadn't told him. He couldn't report that he'd _heard_ a beating taking place, while following a girl home after she'd already told him to stop. That would not make him very believable.

Kazahaya was within a foot of the door, when he felt sleepiness wash over him like a wave. Darkness was eating at the edge of his vision. He looked into the window to see Kakei-san looking out at him with a strange expression on his face. It was then Kazahaya fell forward, his body feeling so heavy. Darkness completely consumed his vision as he felt the hard concrete hit his skull. And that was all he knew.

"Kudo-kun?" said a soft voice. It sounded as if it were very far away, or just an extremely faint voice. Kazahaya moved slightly, adjusting his body to a more comfortable position on the slightly lumpy pillow that his head was inhabiting. "Kudo-kun? Are you awake?" came the voice again. Kazahaya twisted onto his side and turned his head to bury it in the pillow. His ear was pressed against the soft fabric, and suddenly, Kazahaya was sure he could hear a separate heartbeat from his own in his ear. Opening the eye that was against the pillow, and then opening the other, he was met with a spinning room.

"Oh…" he said lifting himself onto his elbows as he squeezed his eyes shut again. "What…happened?" he asked, putting a hand on his head and assuming everyone knew that he meant why was his head aching to badly. Apparently they didn't.

"You were out in the cold rain too long, and you were also suffering from a very, very slight case of shock. From what, I don't know. I was hoping that you would be able to tell us," said the smooth voice. Kazahaya opened his eyes to look at what exactly he had been laying on. It appeared to be someone's lap. Looking up he saw Kakei-san looking down at him inquisitively. For a moment, Kazahaya's instinct to immediately jump away kicked right in. But he didn't have the strength to protest a warm body next to him, no matter who it was. He laid his head down again on Kakei-san's leg and buried his face in the man's hip, clenching his jaw and trying to rid his head of the severe head ache that had gripped his temples and neck.

"Get some pain killers," Kakei-san said to someone else in the room. Kazahaya didn't know who it was, but he suspected it was Rikuo. _Great,_ he thought. _Rikuo sees me weak. He always seems to be there whenever I am weak. He has some sadistic pleasure in seeing me suffer, I know it. Damn him._ "So what happened, Kudo-kun?" Kakei's words broke Kazahaya from his thoughts. He opened his eyes and looked up at what he could see of Kakei-san

"I don't…know…" he said. He lied. He knew exactly what had happened. But he didn't want to tell them, he didn't know why. He just felt as if he would be betraying that girl if he let spill what he'd heard and seen. But if he thought she was going to hurt herself, wasn't it his job to tell someone? But what if she wasn't going to hurt herself? She would hate him for telling then. Because it would make her life even more of a living hell, and it would be his fault. Although, why he cared so much he did not know. He didn't even know this girl. He didn't know her name, or how old she was, or why in fact that man hit her. Maybe she really was a bad person that drove the man to the edge. Maybe she wasn't anything he thought she was. He closed his eyes and turned his face away from Kakei-san, who put a hand on his head and stroked his forehead.

"Kudo-kun," he said. "You're lying."

"No I'm not. I'm serious. I don't remember what happened…" he muttered. Kakei put a hand under his head and pushed him forward a little.

"Sit up. Come on," he said. Kazahaya obeyed, sitting almost completely up, but leaning back on his hands. "Here. Take the pills." Kazahaya was at first not sure what Kakei-san was talking about, but when he looked over, he saw Rikuo holding two pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other. At first Kazahaya was going to begrudge him and not take either, but a sharp stab of pain in his head reminded him that this was probably not the time to be childish. He took the pills and water without a word, and swallowed the pills, downing all of the water. He put the glass down on the floor, then rubbed his forehead, and realized that his hair was dry. He ran his fingers through it and then looked at his hand. How had his hair dried so quickly? Had they dried it for him? Had he really been unconscious for longer than he thought? He turned in his seat on the couch and looked around at his boss.

"Kakei-san, how long was I out?" he asked. The other man shrugged slightly, looking up at Rikuo, who shook his head.

"As an estimate, I'd say an hour and a half. Maybe a little more. Long enough," he said. Kazahaya sighed, then got up off of the couch, looking down at his watch. 7:10. He looked up at Rikuo.

"I guess I'll be closing up," he said annoyed, but did not wait for an answer. He went to the door. _It would have been nice for him to do it for me once while I was sick_, he thought. He opened the back room door and looked into the Pharmacy. The lights were off, the blinds were drawn and the pull down bars in front that prevented vandalism were down and locked. Kazahaya's eyebrows cocked, and a small pang of guilt went through his stomach. Then another stab of pain went through his temple. He gasped, and bit his lip, putting a hand on his head. He turned and looked at Rikuo and Kakei-san.

"Thanks…but do you mind if I go up to bed?" he asked, feeling a little guilty for not thanking them more after they had spent this time with him even after the store was closed. Kakei-san nodded smiling, and got up.

"Please. Rest. Tomorrow's Saturday, so you won't have to work. Just sleep as much as you can," he said, nodding. "Good evening, gentlemen."

Kazahaya's eyes fluttered open. He looked around him and was unsure of where exactly he was. The room was dark, and the curtains were pulled over the window. Sweat marked his body as he lay under his blankets and stared around him. It took him a good several minutes to realize that he was in his own room, in his own bed. He sighed. Maybe it had all been a very bad dream.

Sitting up he stretched and threw the blankets off of his naked body, standing and yawning. He looked about him in the darkness smiling a little. He was so glad to know that it had all been a big, bad nightmare. Moving slowly, he made his way to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He got a towel out from under the sink and started up the shower, making sure the water was very cool, and stepping in, shutting the curtain. The water ran over him, cooling his body and mind, letting him relax from his bad dream. He shut his eyes and let the water run over him.

He felt as if he had been in there for two lifetimes when he noticed that the room was beginning to lighten. The sun must have been coming up. Quickly washing himself, Kazahaya shut off the water and stepped out, rubbing the towel over his hair and wrapping it around his waist. He walked back into his room and looked at the digital clock on his chest of drawers. Five a.m. Kazahaya sighed. He was up much too early. He could have slept another two hours. Kakei-san never had them come in right at eight on Fridays. So they never did. Eight thirty was usually when he went in on Fridays. Sighing again, he opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of jeans, pulling them on, then locating a red t-shirt and slipping it on as well. He could do some valuable thinking.

Walking into the kitchen and turning the stove light on, he began making himself some breakfast. He would have to make more when Rikuo woke up, but it didn't really matter to him. Breaking two eggs into a pan and adding milk, he began making his scrambled eggs. It did not take long for them to cook. To accompany them, he made two pieces of toast and piled them all on a plate, salting the eggs and sitting down. He sighed and closed his eyes. He hadn't turned on any of the lights and he knew that when Rikuo awoke, he would call him a recluse, or something of the sort.

As Kazahaya began to eat, he heard his cell phone noisily ringing from his room. Groaning, he got up and ran into his dresser, flipping open the phone and putting it to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked annoyed.

"Well, you are awake. How are feeling?" came Kakei-san's voice. Kazahaya cocked his head, then nodded.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You read the morning paper yet?" Kakei asked, his voice grave. Kazahaya went to his window and looked down at the box on his window. The paper was there, sitting prettily as if it owned the place. Kazahaya leaned down, grabbing it, and opened it.

"No. Why?"

"You may want to sit down to read it."

"What? Why?" he opened it to the first page and the headline screamed at him.

'**LOCAL GIRL'S BODY FOUND BY FATHER: POLICE SAY SUICIDE'**

There was a picture underneath, and Kazahaya suddenly felt sick to his stomach. The girl that came to their store every Friday was staring at him from the photo. It had all been a dream! How was this? How could this happen? Had it really happened?

"Kakei-san…" was all he could get out before dropping the phone and paper, running to the bathroom, and emptying his stomach of any of its contents. The sound must have awoken Rikuo, because a few moments later, he came into the bathroom and kneeled next to Kazahaya holding his hair away from his face, and rubbing his back.

"Calm down…" Rikuo whispered, as Kazahaya choked on vomit and tears. When he had finally emptied his stomach completely, he could only cry. Tear freefell down his face as Rikuo put a wet towel on his neck, and gave him a towel to wipe his mouth and face. Kazahaya fell back against Rikuo, shaking uncontrollably and sobbing. Rikuo picked him and took him back into his bedroom, putting him in the bed and drawing the blankets over him, being sure to put a wastebasket next to the bed, in case the urge to vomit came over Kazahaya again. Rikuo picked up the newspaper and cell phone, putting the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Rikuo! Where's Kazahaya?" came Kakei-san's voice.

"He's sick."

"Sick?"

"He was throwing up. I think he's okay, now," he said, walking out of Kazahaya's room and shutting the door behind him as he looked at the newspaper. "So the girl killed herself, eh?"

"Apparently. They'll probably want to talk to us if they figure out where she got the drugs from."

"And they will. They'll probably be more interested in Kazahaya since he not only checked her out, but followed her home to give her back the novel. So, we'll all have to be more careful," Rikuo said, tossing the newspaper on the kitchen table and sitting down, looking at the plate of food Kazahaya had left. He grimaced, pushing it away.

"Well, I'll be in after while. Watch Kudo-kun, and I'll check on him when I get in. See you."

"Bye."


End file.
